Petition for Faculty and OAs to Hold Graduate Student Status

Faculty members, including pro tem, career non-tenure track, and tenure-track faculty as defined by the University and the United Academics collective bargaining agreement, as well as Officers of Administration (OA), may not pursue a graduate credential in the department in which they hold an appointment. 

To pursue a graduate credential in another department, they must petition to the Vice Provost for Graduate Studies for approval.  

This policy is established to prevent conflicts of interest that may result when a faculty member or OA is responsible for administering some aspect of graduate education while also being an admitted graduate student.

Petitions to be granted concurrent faculty or OA/graduate student status are reviewed by the Vice Provost for Graduate Studies.

The petition must be submitted and approved before any currently appointed faculty member or OA begins a graduate program and before any admitted graduate student may be appointed to a faculty or OA position.

Each petition must consist of three parts:

Part 1—Student

The student shall submit a letter requesting approval for concurrent faculty/graduate student status that includes the following information:

  1. A description of the place of employment, position, appointment level, FTE, dates of appointment, and name of supervisor.
  2. The academic unit in which the student is studying and a description of what requirements remain to be completed for the graduate program the student is pursuing.

Part 2—Academic Department

The academic department shall submit the following: 

  1. A planned program of study for the student.
  2. A letter responding to the following:
    • Does this petitioner sit on any faculty department committees as a result of their faculty or staff appointment?
    • Is the petitioner involved in any decisions pertaining to academic programs or curriculum in the department as a result of this appointment?
    • Does the academic department have any objection to this faculty or staff appointment?
    • Who is the student's academic advisor and /or committee chair and, if applicable, who are the members of the student's committee?
    • Is there any overlap between faculty in the academic department and the hiring department?
    • What effect, if any, will the faculty/OA position will have on the petitioner’s ability to maintain satisfactory progress toward completion of the degree?

Part 3—Hiring Department

The hiring department shall submit a letter that affirms that the employment duties must not in any way present a conflict of interest between the petitioner’s status as a student and their status as a faculty member or OA in the department. The letter will also address the following points:

  1. The rationale for offering this position as an academic position rather than a graduate employee position.
  2. An accurate detailed description of the duties that will be performed by the petitioner (include a copy of the official job description).
  3. A description of how the petitioner’s job duties will bring the student into contact with instructional faculty.
  4. A description of how the petitioner’s job duties will bring the student into contact with graduate students.

These letters should be addressed to the Vice Provost for Graduate Studies for consideration. The letters should be emailed to the Division of Graduate Studies, graduatestudies@uoregon.edu.

Revised policy approved by Graduate Council September 2015